A class assignment
by ReplaceWithSomethingWitty
Summary: Not exactly Spirited Away, but it's a bit based off of it: a girl comes across a seperate world and has to fight to survive, basically...I suck at short summaries, so the real one's inside.
1. Chapter 1

**I've always wanted to have an assignment that I'd have fun with--like writing a story...So I made up this assignment. Pretending that I'm a teacher who gives relatively interesting assignments, here is the previously mentioned assignment. And I'm going to do it! (I've always wanted an assignment like this...)**

**Assignment: **Create a short story. Remember your descriptions. Make your reader feel like they were in the shoes of the characters. Any point of view (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc), but make it realistic--DO NOT copy a story and merely change names or appearances.

**Story: **A young girl stumbles across a parallel, relatively medieval world, filled with the ghosts of knights, dragons, and other beings that you'd only find in a fairy tale. But she becomes entrapped by an evil sorceress, and is forced to be a servant in the sorceress's castle. Quickly making friends with another girl, she learns that the castle used to be the castle of a great lord, but he disappeared without a trace and the demon sorceress took over, enslaving all who refused to bow down before her. One day, the girl is cornered by a pair of guards who try to charm her. Unfortunately they scare her more than seduce her, but she has no where to run. She's rescued by the sorceress's apprentice, and they become friends. Everyone else seems to think he's evil, just like his Master, and sometimes the girl wonders what is up with him. The apprentice, one day, collapses during a meal; sick with a raging fever. The girl's first friend there finds out that the sorceress is going to take his heart and his soul out of his body to use for a spell that will make her all-powerful, and then would dispose of his body. The girl can't just let that happen to her friend, now can she? She forms a plan to free him and overthrow the sorceress, but will she succeed? Or will they join the apprentice as sacrifices?

**R&R--I'll need at least one review to continue this. **


	2. Lost and Found

**A/N: Chapter one...I didn't mention any names or ages, because I don't have much of an idea for what the names/ages should be.**

**Chapter One: Lost and Found**

I was currently standing in the middle of a narrow alleyway, pressed flat against the wall, hardly daring to breathe. Four big, burly looking men with rifles ran into view, and to my horror stopped right in front of the alley I was in. "Where'd the human go?!" The apparent leader barked at the few, frightened bystanders. Nobody spoke, but many nervous shakes of heads answered him. The leader kicked one of the bystanders in anger and then stormed off, followed by his men.

The peasant boy, who had been kicked, remained on the ground unmoving until the men's shouts and curses faded away. Then the boy pushed himself up on shaking arms; no one moved to help him. Not even the woman who I was almost sure was his mother. When he had managed to stand and steady himself, it seemed the spell was broken. They spoke in whispers still, but they rushed over to the boy and pulled him into the nearest house, their hushed voices anxious and worried.

I took a deep breath and relaxed slightly, allowing myself some time to rest after my game of hide and seek with those men...I closed my eyes and replayed the last hour or so.

I had been exploring the area outside of my new house--we had just moved in with mom's latest boyfriend, and he had a pretty neat house in the woods. I had quickly gotten lost in the dark trees, and when I had finally stumbled out of them I was tired and lonely. But I was awake enough to be shocked at what I saw: a huge meadow, full of dead flowers. On the other side was a huge village, like that from one of those movies set in medieval times, and towering above it was magnificent, yet sinister castle. With a long, black dragon flying to one of the towers. At that moment I knew that this wasn't a place for me.

I knew I shouldn't have gone farther--I should have just turned back and tried to find my way home. This was probably the set of a movie or something; did they actually create things like this for their films? I didn't know. But I felt a tugging inside me, something telling there was something there that was meant to be found...And if it did turn out to be just a movie set, I could just say sorry and ask for a ride home.

So I began walking, my feet crunching on the dead flowers beneath my shoes. I explored, quickly getting lost in the twists and turns of the alleys and streets. I saw no sign of life; windows were dark, shops were closed...there wasn't even a breath of wind. But there was a sense of being watched, and whenever I came into view of that black castle the feeling quadrupled. So far I had only seen it from small side streets; gaps between buildings. But I finally found my way into a large, empty square that was directly in front of it.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of dread; it felt as though I was being sucked into a void of despair...And I knew that I'd never see my home again if I stayed here much longer.

I had just turned to run back the way I came when I noticed where the sun was at--it was just sinking below the horizon, and the feeling of dread grew even more. A light flickered on from inside a shop, and then more lights began to turn on. Figures emerged from the houses--peasants, strange looking travelers, shop keepers. I could tell who and what they were from my knowledge of 'fairy tales'. There were even Elves and Dwarves!

That was when the trouble started.

A villager looked up and saw me, and froze in his tracks. Soon other people began noticing me, and I knew that nothing good could come of this. "Human!" Someone screamed. Four burly looking men that had been standing at each corner of the square began to march forward, rifles in hand and cruel eyes glinting. I did the first thing I thought of:

I ran as though the devil himself were after me.

Screams of "A human!" "Go back inside!" "Get the children to safety!" reached my ears, and soon the streets were nearly deserted. The men were catching up; they weren't human. No one here was human...Except me. What the heck was up with this place I had found? What would happen to me for intruding upon it? I had a feeling that it probably wasn't a good idea to find out the answer to either question.

And that's basically where I was now--running from those men and desperate for a safe place to go.

I stood, hoping I could find my way back to that field of dead flowers so I could get away from here. _Come on,_ I thought to myself, taking a deep breath. _It's just a game of Hide and Seek tag. You're a master at it...shift from place to place, and don't let anyone see you._

I peered out of the alley and saw no sign of anyone. Perfect...

I began fast-walking down the street, staying close to the center of it: I'd have more chance to get away if someone attacked, although I was more out in the open.

I had just walked around another corner, thinking that this was familiar, when I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around to see the black dragon from earlier. Its eyes were blood red, and its scales were darker than night. It had no wings; it looked a bit like Haku from Spirited Away...except much bigger, and definitely evil. Eep.

I took a step back, ready to run for my life. It chuckled, and flames licked its teeth. "Come on, human," it said in a surprisingly cold voice for words coming out of a flaming mouth. "You have no use running. My Mistress wishes to see you."

"Why? Why can't I just go home?!" I asked frantically as he stepped forward, his black furred tail flicking behind him. "My Mistress will explain all if you just come along with me," it said, and took another step forward. I knew that he was lying--if I went with him nothing good could come out of it.

As he took another step toward me I turned and ran, hurtling myself into narrow alleys, hoping they were to small for him to fit. No such luck--he was long and lithe, and easily followed me.

He was quickly catching up on me, and I was quickly becoming lost and exhausted again. One of my hands held a stitch in my side, while the other toppled over crates and anything I passed, trying to maybe slow the dragon down. Suddenly I found myself bursting out of the alley and into the Square again. I tripped over the cobblestones, landing hard on my side. As I groaned and tried to push myself up I heard the dragon laughing. Before I even had time to catch my breath its black talons dug into my shoulders and my feet left the ground.

I screamed, struggling against its grip, but it merely tightened its claws and flew higher, toward the tower I had seen it go into earlier.

Well, there goes my hope of escaping, I thought miserably as the ground grew farther and farther away.

* * *

**So...that's the beginning! Tell me what you think; ConCrit is welcomed.**


	3. Apprentices

**A/N: Ok I lied...I'm continuing this even if I don't get reviews. Which I haven't. Oh well, whatever. Here's the next chapter. Please tell me what you think!**

I was finally dropped through the tower's huge window, crashing onto a rich, red, scratchy carpet. I moaned softly and then looked up, glad to be on solid ground again...But I changed my mind as soon as I saw whose tower this was.

Everything was richly decorated in reds and blacks, from ornate tapestries to plush armchairs. Sitting in one of said armchairs was a figure whose back was to me, their front to the purple fire in the fireplace. The dragon landed next to me and placed one large claw on my shoulder, remaining silent.

I felt almost comforted by his fiery presence; it seemed that the feeling of despair emanated from the figure in front of the fire, and it was magnified a million-fold from being so close.

I shivered and shifted closer to the dragon, who didn't even move. The figure chucked coldly, and the armchair slid around. A tall, imposing woman was lounging in it, wearing an extravegant purple and black dress. Her hair was that of the blackest coal, and I knew she would spare no mercy for anyone just from the look in her black eyes.

"Ah," she said, gazing down her sharp nose at me with contempt. "So this is the human that has intruded upon my kingdom." I wanted to pull my eyes away from hers, but they seemed held there. I couldn't breathe--it was like I was drowning in the inky, cold depths of her eyes...

And then suddenly I was on my knees, bowing low before her, my forehead touching the carpet, my brown hair curtaining my face.

Through my hair, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dragon putting his head on the floor at the woman's feet, his body following. But in his crimson eyes was a look of such hate I had never seen before. Flames licked his jaws, but the woman paid no heed.

"You will work in the castle," she said to me, and my body jerked upright against my will. "Rhydwyn," she looked at the dragon and waved a hand, "You may go." Immediately a tapestry disappeared to reveal a dark stairway, down which the dragon flew.

"What is your name?" She asked. I found myself able to open my mouth, and I bit my lip, leaning away from her. Her eyes narrowed and a cold wind slashed across my skin, making my eyes water. "Speak!" She snarled. "Cerridwyn!" I yelped, curling up, trying to avoid that horrible gaze.

"Ah...Welsh," the woman murmured, sitting back and thinking for a moment.

"Madam," a voice said. I looked up, feeling that it was familiar.

A boy, not much older than me by his looks, was standing in front of the tapestry, not even glancing at me. His hair was like copper and was windswept; his eyes were like hardened, dulled gold. He was tall--maybe half a foot taller than me--and lithe. He wore a black coat with scarlet trim and insides, and underneath that a black tunic. His loose pants were black also, and the outfit was completed with a pair of earrings; two long, teardrop shaped rubies.

I couldn't take my eyes away from him...he was incredibly handsome, yet his entire being generated power not much unlike this woman, the only major difference was that you could _feel_ that the dreadful atmosphere had lessened in his presence.

"Ah, Neirin," the woman--who I had no doubt was a sorceress--said. "This is Cerridwyn. She is our newest servant. Set her up somewhere and see that she's set to work."

Neirin's eyes flashed to mine and he gazed unblinkingly at me. "What are you good at?" He asked coldly. I gulped. "Cleaning, teaching, taking care of things..." I found the words spilling out of my mouth before I could even think. His elegant brows drew together as he stared deeper into my eyes, leaning forward as though to see something better. One last word was drawn from my mouth, "Fighting."

He straightened up. "Take her," the sorceress said, waving a hand. I fell forward at his feet, and I felt very tired of being tossed around like a rag doll all the time.

"Stand," Neirin commanded. No magic was used this time, and I struggled to stand, my head spinning. A strong hand gripped my upper arm and another arm encircled my shoulders. Then I was pushed forward, down the dark, spiraling staircase.

As the tapestry fluttered shut behind us, the sense of dread lessened; but I didn't know whether my current situation was better than the previous.

The stairwell was so dark I could hardly see the steps in front of me, but Neirin guided me surely down them. Finally I felt the need to speak, "Who was that?"

For a second I felt his grip on my arm and my shoulder tighten, but then it relaxed. "That was Madam Agrona. Remember her name and fear it," he said darkly. "She is the Sorceress Queen of Arawn; and she is not known to be forgiving or kind."

Then he lapsed into silence again.

* * *

We finally reached the end of the stairs and a door opened, revealing a torch-lit, dark hallway. A girl, maybe a few years older than I was, was just placing an ornate jade dragon figure onto a shelf, a cloth in her hand and many other cleaning supplies at her side. 

"Ah," Neirin said with a amused, sly grin. "Mina...I heard you wanted an apprentice."

The girl looked around, a sneer on her face. "So you heard; so what?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips, her short, flaming red hair falling into her green eyes. "Well I've got one for you; Cerridwyn, this is Mina. Mina, this is your new assistant."

He pushed me forward and I stumbled slightly, before standing straight and hurrying over to the girl who looked down on me through hooded eyes. "A human," she grumbled and stuck her tongue out at Neirin. "You owe me, kid," she said to him and then handed me the cloth she had been holding. "Come on, little girl."

I immediately liked her, and grinned at her back as she walked by Neirin, knocking into him forcefully. I had a feeling that no one else would have done that...

Maybe being a servant wouldn't be so bad, after all?

* * *

**Eh, it's alright.**

**Thanks for Reading, now there's a little lavender button down below...it's your friend...**


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